Posted By David Willow On Dec 15 2010 @ 1:33 pm In Fantasy Football | No Comments

It was a nasty weekend for some, those relying on players like:

Adrian Peterson had 26 total yards against the Giants with the Vikings all but giving up early.

Aaron Rodgers who went out with a concussion had 46 yards and a INT.

Peyton Hillis was held out of the end zone by the Bills?!? Are you kidding me. Though he still had a 100 yard game, a lot may have been riding on Hillis for most teams in this game.

Megatron was held in check 44 yards on 1 catch thanks to the struggles of Drew Stanton.

Denver’s passing offense was shut down by Arizona of all teams. With Josh McDaniels gone we knew to expect the passing game to decline, but certainly not this badly. Both Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd owners will mourn this game all offseason.

To those of you in your fantasy graves early for the year I salute you. These were all good players and good match ups that floundered at the worst possible time in fantasy.

On the other side are the players that have catapulted their teams into round 2 of the playoffs like:

Michael Turner, who is benefiting greatly from Jason Snelling’s injury, had 112 yards and 3 TDs in a rout of Carolina.

Andre Johnson hauled in 140 yards and 2 TDs in a comeback that wasn’t meant to be in Houston.

Michael Vick continued his scoring ways tossing 2 TDs and running in for a 3rd.

Petyon Manning and Chris Johnson pulled themselves out of slumps at just the right time. Manning had over 300 yards and 2 TDs with no picks, and Johnson racked up 179 totals yards with a touch.

For those of you still in the hunt for fantasy gold, pay close attention to this week’s match-ups and be weary of an important Thursday game, and though the match-ups are key in fantasy don’t over-extend to replace a good player who had a bad week (even if you barely squeaked by because of his poor play).

Also, some leagues are still allowing pick-ups, and for those of you with Aaron Rodgers (if he didn’t sink you last week), a good pick-up is paramount with uncertainty to his availability looming over this week. My gut says he doesn’t play, he had a concussion earlier this year that he didn’t sit out for, and though many are saying he will play because of the playoff implications for the Packers, you have to think that Mike McCarthy is going to want to protect his franchise quarterback for the long term. This, coupled with the stricter concussion policy in the NFL, Rodgers’ chances are aptly described as “iffy”.

The same would go for Big Ben, who hurt his ankle on the same foot with a broken bone in it. He played through the injury, but his broken bone is in his planter foot, making things worse is Pittsburgh facing a New York Jets team that is backed into a corner. This may not be his week.

That being said, here are some pick ups to look at on waivers:

Ryan Torain – After his run against the Bucs, easily on top of waivers. Just remember he ran over the Bucs and will face Dallas who is still stout against the run.

Owen Daniels – Daniels looks like he is back to form after grabbing 5 receptions for 91 yards against the Ravens. His fantasy playoff schedule remaining is Tennessee and Jacksonville.

Kerry Collins – For those of you in need of that QB spot, you could do worse than Collins. He had 3 TDs against the Colts last week and has Kenny Britt back along with Randy Moss and going against the Texans secondary.

Pierre Thomas – Thomas is back just in time for another Saints running back to be injured. Chris Ivory hurt his hamstring Sunday and if Thomas was dropped in your league he may be worth a look, though he faces the Ravens, he will likely handle the goal line if Ivory is out.